76 DIGS.NET
| 12.11.2020
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A D B | H E N R Y B U I LT
T
he best of design endures. Which is why
master craftsmen like Sam Maloof, Wharton
Esherick and George Nakashima are
regarded with almost mythic admiration. Had Henry
Spurgeon Hudson the funds to attend architecture
school as he had planned, instead of using $75 in
total earnings to build himself a house in 1936, we
might be talking about him. Because of Henrybuilt,
the cult maker of craft-quality home systems, we
actually do.
A carpenter, farmer and stone mason born in 1912
in rural North Carolina, Henry swung a formidable
hammer and taught his grandson, Scott Hudson,
to do the same. "Our lives revolved around things
that lasted," says Hudson, the founder and CEO of
Henrybuilt who grew up in the same farmhouse, and
in the very same room, as his grandfather. Together
they made cabinets, built framing and cleared trees.
"Loyalty, honor, love, respect—the things we all
want to give and pass on to our families, that's why I
started the company," Hudson explains.
Like its namesake, Henrybuilt hails from humble
beginnings, starting in 2001 from the confines of a
small shed on Vashon Island in Washington State.
Today the operation enjoys an international profile,
runs a 65,000-square-foot production facility in
Seattle and has showrooms there and in New York
City and the Bay Area. Credit Hudson's holistic,
roots-run-deep commitment to quality, materials
and execution for the brand's thoughtful expansion.
"For Henrybuilt, much of our product is made by
hand," he says. "Scaling while continuing to do that
requires some sort of secret weapon." It came in
2012, when Henrybuilt began integrating the tenets
and techniques of the Toyota Production Method into
its work. "This is different than Lean Manufacturing,"
Aesthetically,
Henrybuilt
designs are
elegant precisely
for their restraint
and this, along
with artisan
practices and
principles,
is especially
resonant with
creatives and
design purists.
A HENRYBUILT KITCHEN
SYSTEM IS AT THE
HEART OF THIS OPEN,
AIRY RESIDENCE
OVERLOOKING THE
COACHELLA VALLEY.
